ABC Money

Irish housewife wins record lottery

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8 January 2016

LONDON: Dolores McNamara, 50, of Garryowen, County Limerick in Ireland, won a 77 million pound lottery jackpot, claimed to be Europe’s largest accumulated fortune after nine rollovers.

The National Lottery in Ireland, which runs the Euromillions jackpot, said it has still not got any registration from McNamara, and hence could not confirm she is a winner. A spokesperson of the Lottery said, “Obviously it is all over the papers, but there is a formal procedure. The offices will be open on Tuesday but it would be mid to late next week at the earliest that the person would get the money, because of the magnitude of the amount.”

Euromillions tickets are sold across the U.K. Austria, Belgium, Portugal, France, Luxembourg and Spain. The winner has to match five main numbers from 1 to 50 and two lucky star number from 1 to 9. The previous record winning in Europe was 72 million pounds of the Italina Superenalotto in May this year, while the world record is 197.4 million pounds won by Andrew Whittaker in the U.S. Powerball in 2002.

McNamara, said her friends, was at the TrackBar in Garryowen, when she realised about the win. A barman said she has six kids and is a nice person. “She had given the ticket to a friend to check, telling her she couldn’t win anything – not even an argument. No one could believe it when she was told she had won.” Her husband Adrian, is a bricklayer and is recovering from a heart surgery.

She is into hiding, said her friends, to escape media interest. Her bank manager is said to have escorted her from the bar to the bank to help here put the ticket in safe. She is now 70th in the list of Ireland’s rich people, even ahead of Manchester United star Roy Keane and Hollywood actor Colin Farrell. She bought the 1.40-pound jackpot ticket on Friday, just hours before the draw.

Company man Rowe to replace Bolland as M&S boss

Elliot

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8 January 2016

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Company man Rowe to replace Bolland as M&S boss

UK retail giant Marks & Spencer will see current CEO Marc Bolland succeeded by Steve Rowe in April, with Bolland having announced his planned departure well ahead of time.

Like Bolland, Rowe is highly regarded in the retail sector as an experienced merchant and he will take over at the head of the firm in Q2 having previously managed M&S food. At present Rowe directs Marks & Spencer’s clothing and homeware offerings and his father was also a director of the leading British retailer until 2000.

Bolland’s departure is something of a surprise but was announced as M&S published a big drop in recent clothing sales. Bolland will be leaving the company with a £1.5 million pay-off, as he will continue to be paid until January 2017, after continuing to support Rowe in his new role until June of this year.

That arrangement will see Bolland receive nearly £900,000 in basic pay and other benefits and nearly £656,000 in shares. He already owns a stake in M&S estimated to be worth £3m. He could also earn a bonus of nearly £1.95m in cash and shares this year, plus more than £1.5m in additional shares, according to The Guardian newspaper.

M&S have recorded only a single quarterly increase in clothing sales over the past five years, with rivals taking an increasing market share. However, senior M&S figures have been supportive of Bolland and insist he was under no pressure to depart.

Indeed, food sales were strong in Q4 of 2015, as M&S food enjoyed its best ever Christmas. Food and drinks numbers at M&S have been on the rise steadily over most of the last decade.

Bolland remains upbeat about M&S’s status and his own role in the recent development of the business. The Guardian report that Bolland believes he has made a significant contribution to the ‘heavy lifting’ of modernising the company, by improving distribution, enhancing IT infrastructure, breathing life into the food offering, overseeing a strengthening in online services for customers and raising the quality of clothing on sale.

He described M&S as a “financially healthy and talented company” and went on to add, “The business is better in style, quality and margin as never before. You will see over the next quarters the benefits of that and if that is after my time I don’t mind. Can I look back and say it is all finished and great? Never. But I have done the heavy lifting that was needed. I am very pleased with what I have done over the last years and think I have built the foundations.”

Bolland holds a number of positions on the boards of large organisations and plans to devote more time to roles where he can give something back. The Dutchman is vice-president of the charity Unicef.

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International markets suffer after Chinese collapse

Elliot

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5 January 2016

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International markets suffer after Chinese collapse

China’s disastrous start to 2016 trading on Monday, which saw shares slump and triggered an early closure of the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets, had a knock-on effect causing a lack of confidence amongst investors around the globe.

International trading desks commenced the year with caution as the Chinese volatility and heightening Middle East tension forced stocks down.

After its worst annual results in four years at the conclusion of 2015, London’s benchmark FTSE 100 closed down 158.89 points, or 2.39%, to 6,093.43, on the first day of 2016 trading. That was the weakest start for the FTSE in 16 years, with only 2000’s opening day loss of 3.81% being a worst commencement to annual trading in the index’s three decades of history.

That meant Britain’s leading companies had dropped over £38bn in value when London trading concluded on Monday, a considerable loss compared with a total decrease of £80bn over the past year.

Monday’s Chinese mayhem also caused havoc on Wall Street with US markets reacting to the news. Day one of 2016 trading in the US saw the S&P 500 slip 1.3pc, whilst the Dow Jones industrial average and the Nasdaq Composite index lost 2.2pc and 2.7pc respectively.

Across Europe the FTSEurofirst 300 index slumped as much as 2.9pc and in Paris the CAC 40 lost 2.5pc. Germany’s DAX fell a massive 4.3% as the Spanish IBEX lost 2.4%.

Trading had been called to an early close on the Shanghai and Shenzhen stock markets after 7% losses were triggered by figures highlighting a slowing trend in Chinese manufacturing – which has now been going on for ten months consecutively. The signals suggest that the world’s second largest economy is slowing down overall.

Last August China devalued its currency – the yuan – by 2% against the dollar, making it the biggest fall in value for over 20 years. That move was described by the Chinese as a singular adjustment aimed at stimulating the economy by making exports cheaper.

Experts believe that China wishes the yuan to be classed amongst the IMF’s reserve currencies which it uses for loans. Currently that group of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights currencies includes sterling and the dollar, which China would like to join, as a mark of financial kudos.

However, if Chinese stock markets continue to fluctuate wildly and China’s giant manufacturing influence decreases the yuan is likely to suffer further, rather than imminently joining the elite.

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Trading halted in China after CSI300 share index plummet

Elliot

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4 January 2016

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Trading halted in China after CSI300 share index plummet

As markets recommenced activity on the first Monday of 2016 it was a dramatic day for the Chinese CSI300 as a huge drop in the share index triggered an automatic ‘circuit breaker’, halting trading with immediate effect.

The 7% share plunge in the opening session of the year automatically tripped the mechanism which suspended Chinese stock markets, as poor industrial output indicators and a decrease in the value of the yuan added to concerns about the giant Asian economy. It was the first time exchanges have been forced to suspend trade in such a manner.

Around 90 minutes before the end of the trading day in China, following a morning and early afternoon of heavy losses on the CSI300, activity was brought to an early close at approximately 5.30am GMT.

A 15-minute pause in trading had been applied in the afternoon in an attempt to slow the shedding of indexes, which had already dropped 5%, but trading in Shanghai and Shenzhen was again halted after resuming for a brief period in the afternoon.

The automatic ‘circuit-breakers’ designed to alleviate market volatility were in place for the first day and were called into immediate activity.

The CSI300 therefore ended the curtailed day down 7%, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 6.9% and the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index fell 3%.

Market analysis from a private survey released early on 4^th January indicated a tenth consecutive month of slowing industrial activity in China, with a sharper decline in December than previously expected. This followed market reports last Friday indicating a contraction in the activity of larger state-owned businesses for the fifth successive month, adding to worries about the wider Chinese economy.

Speaking to Reuters, a strategist from Cinda Securities commented: “The slump apparently triggered intensified selling, while the triggering of the circuit breaker seems to have heightened panic, as liquidity was suddenly gone and this is something no one has experienced before. It was a stampede.”

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Brits could lose millions due inconsistent Christmas returns policies

News

Elliot

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24 December 2015

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Brits could lose millions due inconsistent Christmas returns policies

Differing policies on unwanted Christmas presents from a number of big name High street stores and online retailers could lose Brits millions of pounds, with many of the UK’s biggest brands refusing to take back gifts from as early as the 4^th of Janauary.

With this date falling just over a week after Christmas, Brit shoppers don’t have a lot of time on their side to be refunded for the gifts that’ll go unwanted this year. A whopping two thirds of people receive presents that they never intend to use and it was revealed that £223 million worth of gifts were returned last year, as suggested by a GoCompare.

These figures were revealed in a study that the price comparison company conducted last year, and now voucher code website 360vouchercodes.co.uk have weighed in with their own study of the 26-leading stores and websites in the UK and found out that there is a major difference in return policies during the Christmas period.

For those who like to get their Christmas shopping done early, Marks & Spencer’s have one of the longest Christmas gift return policies, counting any gift bought from September 14^th as a Christmas present with the final return date for these gifts being January the 16^th.

This is a stark contrast to the remainder of the other major high street and online retailers who tend to begin their Christmas gift policies at the end of October or the beginning of November.

Popular department store Selfridges on the other hand has one of the earliest end dates for returning gifts, with the company refusing to refund unwanted Christmas presents just 9 days after the 25^th of December. For those who purchase their gifts from the Selfridges website then they have an additional seven days to return their gifts and receive a full refund in return.

It’s fair to say that retailers have no obligation to their customers to offer them a return policy on items bought, but with it being the season of goodwill and all (as well as being one of the most expensive months in the calendar year!); retailers decide to take up this policy. If the gift you receive is faulty however then you’re well within your rights to demand a full refund for the purchase.

Despite the likes of Selfridges demanding returns nine days after Christmas it’s fair to say that most retailers are more relaxed about the situation. Some of the biggest retailers around such as Debenhams, ASOS and New Look give their customers up until the end of January to return their unwanted gifts.

It’s recommend that you don’t go returning your gifts during the mad Boxing Day sales as the likelihood is that you’ll be turned away, with many high street stores such as River Island and New Look flat out refusing to take gifts back hours after they’ve been opened.

Despite the varied policies, the study from 360vouchercodes revealed that out of the 26 different retailers they researched, the return dates for online and in store purchases barely differ, with most online retailers still offering free postal delivery on all returns.

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International appeal of Premier League’s London clubs boosts UK economy

Elliot

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21 December 2015

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International appeal of Premier League’s London clubs boosts UK economy

An in depth study into the international demographics of overseas fans buying tickets for Premier League games has highlighted the huge appeal of England’s top flight across the globe.

Indeed, the study found that Americans are the most numerous Premier League fans from overseas, when it comes to purchase of resale tickets for domestic matches. Meanwhile it was also revealed that Champions League games are cheaper than Premier League games on the resale market for Chelsea and Manchester United, though the reverse is true at Arsenal and Manchester City.

All of those ‘big four’ clubs who represented the Premier League in the Champions League this season, before United’s early exit, have huge fanbases outside the UK and all have investors or owners from foreign shores.

With huge numbers of international players and managers in the Premier League it is little surprise that such high numbers of fans are heading to watch games in England.

London is of course one of the world’s top tourist destinations and the cosmopolitan nature of Chelsea football club means they attract higher ratio of spectators from overseas than any other top flight club, according to data released by Ticketbis.net. Furthermore, at Chelsea and Manchester United ticket prices are cheaper for Champions League matches than Premier League games on the secondary ticket sales market, again underlining the appeal of the domestic game, even if things are not quite going to plan for either side so far in the 2015-16 campaign.

Ticketbis.net found that 28.05% of overseas buyers for Premier League games last season went to see Chelsea. The draw of London is clear to see, as Arsenal welcomed the second highest share of visitors from abroad to their league fixtures with 26.46%. Manchester United are well known for attracting fans from abroad and they sat third in the ‘foreigners league table’ standings on 15.91%.

Champions League tickets for United resell at an average price of £97, much lower than for Premier League games at £171. Similarly for Chelsea domestic league matches cost an average of £164 to attend on the open market, but that price drops to £119 per ticket for Champions League matches.

In contrast, average resale ticket prices for Champions League games at Arsenal (£165) and Manchester City (£147) are slightly more expensive than Premier League games – which on average cost £164 and £133 to attend at Arsenal and City respectively.

The figures also highlight the fact that Americans are confirmed as the Premier League’s biggest foreign fans buying resale tickets, being the only country to appear in the top three nationalities of overseas supporters that buy tickets for each Premier League ground.

The rapid growth of football or ‘soccer’ in the United States is demonstrated by the findings. No less than 38 Americans have played in the English top flight since 1992, while a growing number of ex-Premier League stars are making the trip across the pond to play in Major League Soccer.

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Massive cost of watch servicing in UK revealed by study

Elliot

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10 December 2015

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Massive cost of watch servicing in UK revealed by study

A study into the cost of servicing luxury watches has highlighted the expense of maintaining high quality timepieces for investors. With many UK based investors now widening their portfolios beyond traditional investments to include classic cars, art collections, jewelry and luxury timepieces, the study highlights how to avoid paying over the odds to keep precision watches working perfectly.

Analysis published by Luxewatches.co.uk has revealed the cost of sending a luxury watch in for a full service by a manufacturer can be almost 200 per cent more expensive than getting a car overhauled in the UK.

The average cost of maintenance work on a non-chronograph watch through official brand servicing channels is £432, while a chronograph watch works out as £508. The comprehensive investigation compared service costs on both watches and cars across multiple prices ranges.

In comparison, it was found that the average of cost of a car check and service in the UK is £256, with £475 for work on the BMW 3 Series the most expensive of the eight manufacturers analysed. The £149 average for a service on a Vauxhall Astra was the cheapest.

Average prices for watch repairs across the ten leading manufacturers ranged from £1,235 for a non chronograph Audemars Piguet Royal Oak Tourbillon Extra Thin, to £200 for a non-chronograph Cartier.

Watch brands reviewed were Audemars Piguet, Breitling, Cartier, Jaeger-LeCoultre, Omega, Panerai, Patek Philippe, Richard Mile, Tag Heuer.

Car models looked at were the Audi A3, BMW 3 Series, Ford Fiesta, Honda Civic, Mercedes Benz C-Class, Nissan Qashqai. Vauxhall Astra and Volkswagen Golf.

The research did not take into account the super-high rate for services on a Richard Mille timepiece, which comes to £6,402.5 for maintenance work on the RM 044 and RM 008.

Jake Martin from Luxewatches.co.uk, stated, “Luxury watch owners seek to service their watch with the brand they own, often because they feel reassured. What these customers don’t know, however, is that official brands often charge way over the odds, and usually take months to service or repair a watch.

“Similarities can be drawn between watch and car servicing, where independent garages often cost less than brands. Watch servicing is advised between 2-5 years, so there’s no harm in people wanting it to be done correctly (especially with a prized possession), although it should be understood there are other ways to get it done aside from official channels.”

Luxe charge £190 for a non-chronograph and £360 for a chronograph full service and they also aim to have your timepiece ready in between 1-2 weeks, as opposed to 8 weeks.

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Draghi and ECB look to stimulate Eurozone growth

Elliot

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3 December 2015

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Draghi and ECB look to stimulate Eurozone growth

‘Quantitative easing’, the practice of purchasing assets with newly created money, could be back on the cards in the Eurozone as the European Central Bank (ECB) pushes for an uplift in growth in the old continent.

ECB President Mario Draghi has a challenge on his hands to overcome low inflation in key territories and therefore could sanction a cut in interest rates in centrally controlled bank deposits. In order to encourage lending the ECB even have the power to impose an interest rate of -0.2% on their deposits, with banks effectively being charged by the ECB for handling their reserves.

This policy aims to make cash flow more freely as banks are encouraged to offer more loans to individuals and businesses within the Eurozone. This could help to counter low inflation which is estimated to be as low as 0.1% in key Euro territories, far lower than the ECB’s target figure for inflation of close to 2%.

Largely due to crude oil prices and wider international energy costs, negative inflation or deflation as it is more commonly known – eg falling prices – has been experienced in certain European economies this year. Core inflation, which does not include variable energy or food prices, is also too low for the ECB’s liking.

For ECB President Draghi – and indeed any other financial authority figure – deflation is a key problem as it can increase debt problems and slow consumers or businesses in their spending habits.

As certain European countries desperately need to improve their competitiveness in the international market – such as Greece, Cyprus and Spain – deflation across the Eurozone means they have to lower prices, which is an obvious potential obstacle to growth.

It is therefore a major priority for Draghi and the ECB to provide the stimulus to increase pan-European inflation.

Buying financial assets from governments, such as bonds or debt, with freshly created money, is the quantitative easing tactic expected to be more widely implemented to push down interest rates more efficiently than the central European bank’s traditional interest rate policies do.

Across the Atlantic the situation is quite different and the US economy appears to be several steps ahead. Unemployment is decreasing in the US, the economy is growing and inflation is not causing an issue as it is for the Europeans.

The US’ central bank, the Federal Reserve, has now gone a year without having to rely on quantitative easing and could soon even raise interest rates.

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Amsterdam named as Europe’s most expensive city for stag parties

World

Elliot

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30 November 2015

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Amsterdam named as Europe’s most expensive city for stag parties

According to new figures released, British men are best advised to look overseas when planning low cost stag parties, but might want to avoid Amsterdam, which has been named as the most expensive location for a stag weekend in Europe.

Researchers from Pissup.com looked into the cost of attending a stag do in 23 European cities, and found the average per-head cost of two days and two nights partying in the Dutch capital to be £537.91, over £35 more than the next dearest mainland European location, Barcelona (£499.79). Although cheap flights make both cities easily accessible their reputations as party capitals mean stags and their pals face high costs on weekends there.

Four popular British party cities – London (£521.69) – which was the second most expensive overall – along with Newcastle (£466.17), Bournemouth (£464.70) and Edinburgh (£451.52) – are among the most expensive in Europe, with the UK (£476 on average) being the third most expensive country behind the Netherlands (£537.91) and Spain (£499.79).

Meanwhile Brno in the Czech Republic was found to be the cheapest stag weekend option. Partygoers can expect to pay in the region of £281.92 for their weekend’s activities there, with Bratislava in Slovakia nearly as good value, recording a £283.51 average.

The study took into account a full set of average costs per city including return flights from UK (or trains if they were cheaper for UK travel), two nights accommodation, a healthy beer budget of 20 beers per person, two nights out in a night club, a visit to a strip club, a daytime activity (such as shooting or quad biking) and six taxi fares over the course of the weekend.

The most expensive place for accommodation, drinking, nightclubs and activities was London, but Amsterdam prices are not far behind. Even accounting for the current weak euro, the added cost of getting to Amsterdam from the UK means the famous Dutch party city just edges above the English capital in terms of overall costs.

Brno is the cheapest option of them all being cheap to get to and very reasonable for costs such as hotels, food and beer, with the pound buying stag groups plenty of Czech Koruna on arrival. Meanwhile the Bulgarian capital Sofia was the second cheapest overall, with a 0.5l beer (just under a pint) costing the equivalent of just 75p there and an average nightclub entry charge working out at £3.76, when converted from Bulgarian Lev.

The four cheapest countries to visit in the study were Slovakia, Bulgaria, Czech Republic and Poland with each member of the stag group potentially spending £200 per weekend less on trips to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet bloc than they would in Amsterdam.

Rasmus Christiansen from stag party organisers Pissup.com commented, “Going abroad for your final weekend of freedom is always more fun and more adventurous than staying in the UK and the relative strength of the pound means it can often be a cheaper option too. Stags and their mates who make it to Eastern Europe and further afield often find that the extra hour or so on the plane makes a big difference, as their accommodation, food and drinks are much cheaper. It also means they have more spare cash to use for some adrenaline pumping fun, shooting machine guns, riding quads through forests and sampling other local delights!”

“Amsterdam may have come out on top in terms of overall costs but it is still a massively popular destination for stags and there’s a reason for that. For many people the excellent nightlife scene of Amsterdam make it worth spending the extra cash on.”

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Britons set to spend over £12,000 per second on Black Friday

Elliot

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26 November 2015

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Britons set to spend over £12,000 per second on Black Friday

The UK’s biggest ever online shopping day is on the horizon with Britons expected to spend at an average rate of £12,384.26 per second this Black Friday, 27th November.

Retail experts believe it will be Britain’s first ever £1bn plus online shopping day, with spending set to rise 32% on the overall spend from Black Friday 2014 where £810 million was spent on that day alone.

This year’s Black Friday rate of spend is expected to be a 276% increase on the average online spend per day in the UK of £3,297.82 per second. Throughout the day an expected 12 million plus online transactions will be made.

According to statistics from money saving website Voucherbox.co.uk, based on 2014 trends, by 9am on Black Friday almost £200,000 will have been spent, with the second highest peak of the day at 11am taking the spend up to more that £335,0000 by mid morning.

Spend is likely to level out in the afternoon before reaching the largest predicted peak of activity at 9pm, by which point over £900,000 will have been spent on e-commerce sites.

Originating from the US, Black Friday has an increasing relevance to UK retailers and consumers, with huge temporary discounts offered at the start of the Christmas period. In the US the equivalent of £67,024.33 will be spent per second this year, with a larger population and with the day being a more established date to American shoppers.

With 2014 seeing an average order value of £88.89 and with over 9 million transactions taking place on the big day last year many top retailer websites crashed due to the rush in spending. With a further 32% increase in activity expected, many retailers are better prepared for this year.

Some have significantly increased their offline logistics in order to be able to meet delivery requirements and many have optimised their websites to deal with the extra demand. Some retailers are also taking a more prudent approach to Black Friday itself and are spreading out their special offers and discounts throughout the weeks building up to Christmas.

Shane Forster, UK Country Manager of Voucherbox.co.uk says, “The rate of spend predicted for Black Friday 2015 is huge, and so retailers need to ensure they are prepared for the uplift this year. Last year saw many websites unable to handle the pressure of the visitor influx compared to normal days and in order to take their share of what is up for grabs on this one day, systems must be in tip top shape and ready for the flood of visitors”

“With all the hype around Black Friday and the many deals promised by top brands, we are anticipating an even earlier peak in the flood of visitors than last year, it will definitely be an early start!”

Matt Swan, Head of Business Intelligence for Affiliate Window added, “Black Friday really arrived in the UK last year and established itself as a new retail phenomenon. We saw some incredible year-on-year growth across the network with almost a 140% increase in sales on Black Friday 2013. During the peak trading hour we recorded six sales per second. This year Black Friday is widely anticipated to be even bigger, with Experian–IMRG predicting it to be worth £1.07bn. We’re expecting strong performance across the network and mobile devices to play a key role throughout the day.”

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